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Investment: India Inc buys 143 US cos in 2 years |
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During the last two years, Indian companies acquired 143 US firms across various sectors. While 94 deals were concluded in 2007-08, in the following year when the economy was on the downturn, Indians bought as many as 50 US entities that were on the verge of closure, saving thousands of jobs.
A study, jointly conducted by Indian industry association FICCI and Ernst & Young, said Tata Chemicals, Wipro, Reliance Communications and Firstsource Solutions were some of the top Indian entities that were involved in bailing out US companies in the red.
The report released on Thursday last said IT&ITeS, manufacturing and pharmaceuticals were the prime sectors in which most of the deals were formalised. Indian companies from the IT sector have over the years been aggressively expanding in the US market.
The Ernst & Young report says the boom in the Indian economy in the last three to four years made the domestic companies cash-rich which provided them with access to more capital than in the past.
One of the key factors, as the report cites, behind more acquisitions has been the liberal policies introduced by the government and RBI for overseas investments.
According to RBI data, in 2007-08 the total outbound investments of Indian companies amounted to $18 billion. In the first half of 2008-09, at least 2,000 proposals valued at $9 billion were cleared for overseas investments in joint ventures and wholly owned subsidiaries.
India is UK's second largest source of investment in FY'09
India has become the UK's second largest source of investment in 2008-09, after the US, with 108 foreign direct investment projects. This marks a quantum jump from the sixth position it held in the previous year with 75 projects, Britain's Trade, Investment and Business Minister Lord Davies told newsmen today.
The new investments included that of GTL Communications, Times of India Group's tie up with Virgin Radio, and in the fields of Science, Engineering and Dynamatics, he said.
There were as many as 1,744 investment projects locating and expanding in the UK and as many as 53 countries had invested here "with investment projects from India increasing by 44 per cent in the past year to become the UK's second largest source - 108 FDI projects," he said.
The Hindustan Aeronatical Ltd, which already has a tie-up with UK for the manufacture of HAWK, has evinced interest for more collaboration, Lord Davies said.
He was in India last week and had a meeting with the new Commerce Minister Anand Sharma and said, "We have historic link with India which is a huge market and there is substantial scope for increase in two-way investment."
He said, "We do expect more and more inward and outward investment from India in the fields of science, engineering and dynamatrics."
He said, "Investment increased across a range of sectors such as advanced engineering, the creative industries, software computer and other business services - and the financial
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